6.8.2008

I'm reasonably fit and have an active job, but I know I could be fitter... Like most people, I have a busy schedule and don't always make time to exercise as much as I could, outside of work. This "game" has been a great inspiration to me and I am already feeling the benefits!Like most fitness plans or routines, you get out of this what you put in - if you lie and say you did one of the challenges when you didn't... you're only cheating yourself! So obviously, you need a bit of will power - or at the very least a vow to yourself that you will follow your Coach's advice.If you're up for the challenge, then My Health Coach is for you! Like the description says, you don't need to spend long at all with it each day.I like to spend 5 minutes in the morning, choosing my challenge or challenges for the day - then I come back for 5 minutes at the end of the day to note the food I ate and the activity I did. Be sure to "Wrap the day" when you've done both, as you can't go back and check it off after that day has finished. I did try to alter the DS date setting so I could go back and "Wrap" the previous day (i.e. get a little tick on the calendar) but annoyingly, the game knew what I was trying to do! It would be nice to have the option to "tick" the day once its finished.The Health Coach covers your eating habits (including your cooking, visits to restaurants, willingness to try new foods) and your activity (including your pedometer count, any exercise or activity for the day). You will be set targets for the day - usually a specific number of steps on the pedometer, a number of minutes of activity (e.g. 30 - could be as simple as a walk during your lunch break), 1 or more challenges and finally, you get an extra tick if you balance your food and activity.The challenges are quite fun and range from minute challenges (those to be done straight away) to 24-hour challenges (which you can complete any time during the day). You are offered a mixture of food and fitness challenges (you can do up to 6 in any one day) to choose from and you can change the types of challenges you want by answering in your Coaching sessions.As some people have mentioned, the pedometer is slightly larger than most, to accomodate the DS connection point. I haven't had a problem with it and wear it throughout my day. If it bothers you, you are able to enter the step count manually, so you could always use a smaller one. It's been a very interesting way to monitor how much walking I do every day and you get activity points for the amount of steps.I haven't had a problem with entering my food - it does take a couple of days to get used to which category the food has been entered under and as its not an exhaustive list, you may have to substitute some things. Some of it is a little Americanised, but it shouldn't cause much of a translation issue for most Brits.Overall, I have really enjoyed using my Health Coach - I have been using it every day for nearly a fortnight now and not only am I eating much more healthily but I am also getting closer to achieving my fitness goals. For me, it has definitely been worth the money and I would recommend it to others who would like a portable bit of encouragement in a healthier lifestyle. I have given the game 4 stars as I think it could be improved but it is easy-to-use and it changes its goals as you improve or as you alter your weight in the Passport section. I like it especially because it emphasises that the more you exercise, the more you will need to eat appropriate food to fuel the body.

9.8.2008

I read the reviews on Amazon before purchasing My Health Coach; thank you to the woman who wrote the detailed report, saying it was fun feeding the stick person and seeing it get fat after it had been fed what she ate, it made up my mind to buy it, as it sounded fun. A lot of these things are a big disappointment when you get them home but I am so impressed with this I have recommended it to friends.What I like about this is its simplicity. The challenges are very do-able. My first one was to stand and sit ten times, and the second was to dance energetically to two songs.I had read that the pedometer was unwieldy and that the reset button was inclined to be accidentally pressed and lose the data,but I haven't found it so. I was prepared to fish out my small pedometer, as you can use your own if you wish, but I like the DS acquiring my results and resetting the device. If you are worried about losing your score, you can input the steps whenever you want as long as you don't tick 'wrap the day' as that will close off that day's results. I like the countdown on 24 hour challenges as you can see how much time you've got left to complete them. It motivates me when there is a deadline. Best of all, it's unlike slimming clubs, which patronise us by having us clap the loss of so little as one pound(Harvey, on tv, says 'I could CRAP one pound!') and stay silent when those who didn't lose anything, or who(horror of horrors)gained weight, are mentioned. I don't like anything that makes people feel bad about themselves, even it is is by default. This device is nothing like a slimming club. It is totally private, and you are not competing with others but being privately coached to do a little more than you have been doing; making small changes, and not obsessing over food. I like the way it showed that the initial 500 steps you did with the pedometer took only five minutes (you could rack up 300-400 steps during an ad' break).I like that it measures your progress in distance (rather than slimming club silver and gold stars) as it translates as 'See how far you have come'. If motivation wains you have only to look at how far you have come to want to have that stick figure walk more of your miles on screen. I like this product. It's well thought out. I hope they use it in schools as overweight children would enjoy the fun element of the stick figure doing what it does, and the challenges, but most of all, being in charge of their own health.But more than that, I have adult daughters who are very weight conscious, thanks to the media; one of them worryingly underweight, and I felt relieved that it is not about calorie-counting or weight, but 'energy in/energy out' and it informs an underweight person why their body needs nourishment. Out of all the weight loss options I have tried, this is the one that impresses me most, because it's simple, it's encouraging, and it doesn't have you thinking about food all the time, but rather, the positive side of making changes; the challenges and the feel-good factor when after you've done them. You get back a sense of your own power. If you have been rebelling against people's attitude to your extra weight, as I have, this little coach is on your side.

17.7.2012

The Game:This game is more about being more healthy, not losing buckets of body weight. You start off by entering your details and watching the stick man explain to you what the game is all about (a healthier lifestyle in small steps). You are then told about the challenges and other aspects of the game. You are given a coaching session about walking, including a quiz, which is quite fun. The pedometer idea is probably the main fitness part of the game, allowing you to push yourself to progressively walk more than your average. You can also log your daily food intake and exercise. You can complete challenges, which can be a quite fun, especially if you are bored. The more challenges you complete,

20.7.2008

This was bought for me as a gift by my thoughtful husband who could see I was struggling to get going with my weight loss plans. Five days on and I am happy to say that it has been the perfect kickstart and I've even lost a couple of pounds already!It's great fun to use, what with being able to plug in the pedometer and prove how many steps you have done to the programme (although you can input them manually too which is handy) and lots of varied challenges to get and hopefully keep you motivated. The more challenges you complete, the more coaching sessions it offers you. All this is supervised by your little cartoon character friend; mine is a female who occasionally mutates into an alien with one eye!

2.7.2008

I waited for 5 days after I got this game before I wrote my review so I was sure of all its components before I wrote the review. I don't want to dwell to much on negative points as other reviewers have mentioned the same but you may only read one review and its important. Firstly only one person can use this game as it can only store data for one person. Secondly its not developed for the UK market too many American terms , especially irritating when you are doing the quizzes and listing your food. Now for the positive, as a foot note I am totally into any gadgets to do with exercise, I have worn a pedometer for years, have a heart rate monitor and have also recently purchased a wii fit.

22.9.2008

I won't waste space by repeating gameplay details, already in other reviews.The biggest disappointment for me is that you can only have one user's details on the game card. The only other problem is that the game does not take into account the nutritional value of your food intake, only the energy value. So it is not much help for dieters who want to watch how much sugar, fat etc they are having. The game does include quizzes to test your nutrition knowledge, however.You can choose from a variety of Challenges each day. Some of these include looking up how to bake something, trying to go 24 hours without junk food or spending a few minutes doing a particular exercise.

5.11.2009

Those of us who need to manage our weight know very well what we need to do - use some common sense, don't overeat and take a bit of exercise. If you're prepared to do this, then the My Health Coach game is a good tool to keep you motivated and help you enjoy the process of getting slimmer and fitter. It is not meant to be a serious training or diet coaching tool, and I think that anyone who tried to take it that seriously would find the game a big disappointment. Accept it for what it is and you can have some fun and help yourself to make progress towards your goals.I enjoy using the game a lot; some of the challenges are not relevant to my life, but I can pick and choose the ones that best suit me.

3.2.2010

It's not a game, it's a health monitor. During the day a pedometer tracks your movement. At the end of the day you put the pedometer in your Nintendo DS. A way to cheery little man monitors your movements and asks you what you've done with other movements, like sporting. It asks you what you've eaten, and it challenges you to do something extra, for instance it encourages you to walk to the shop instead of taking the car.I'm using it four weeks now, and indeed, I've lost about 3 kilo weight, just as any diet advisor woud advise. Without any dieting. So I guess it's working.One of the few disadvantages are that it is fairly American lifestyle oriented. It assumes that it is normal to eat take-out food almost every day.

18.9.2008

My Health Coach is excellent overall.It gives you the motivation to move more, as you want to reach the 6000 steps on the pedometer every day!There has been criticism about the size of the pedometer, but you don't notice it is there really.The challenges are very achievable. I suffer from chronic back pain,and can't do things like jumping jacks, so I use 1 kilo weights instead,which shows anyone can benefit from this game.The presentation is excellent and fun, I love the spiral note pad look!The advice given is very sensible, especially about food.The only criticism I have is about measuring your food consumption. It is very approximative and the choice of foods is very limited.

15.9.2009

This is so great, its simple to use and is great for helping you eat healthier food, monitoring your calorie intake and calorie spend. It gives you little challenges, some I don't do as they do not fit with my life style but most of them are pretty easy tasks. Even if you get the odd craving for chocolate you can still have it but it encourages you to eat less of it. Of course you have to be disciplined and do it every day, if you're not going to commit don't bother buying it. At least you can do it at home, at work and don't have to be ridiculed by somebody at a weekly weigh-in telling you and all behind you, queuing like cattle, that you haven't lost weight etc, etc,.

16.9.2010

I bought this "game" around 2 months ago out of sheer curiosity as i tend to walk everywhere - and as it was only about £5 at the time - and i've got to say, i'm pleasantly suprised.Although very americanised, the menus are easy to use and keep an accurate track of distance/weight/calories. The pedometer is large and obvious (leading several people to ask if i'm a doctor on call as it looks a lot like a white pager from the 90s) but aside from that it's great!I've personally found it very useful and feel that even after more than 2 months: i WANT to complete the Daily Section everyday and i WANT to try to match, and beat, the steps recommended!I didn't buy this to help me lose weight,

15.1.2009

I'm already impressed by the product, given that it has some room for improvement ie I find I can't edit food choices if entered incorrectly but altogether quite a good little gadget, providing you put the effort in!I'm a regular gym attendee and keen swimmer so hopefully that will be reflected in my statistics on the 'game'Some useful hints and tips for the absolute beginner, I've given it 5/5 for ease of use and the easy going fun aspects of the 'game' and the pedometer is quite good but ultra sensitive to ANY movement!! Be sure also to clip it firmly to whatever you're wearing; I've a feeling the design could be improved to make it more stable and accuratenot bad though considering it's my

27.7.2009

I bought this as I wanted to keep track of my everyday fitness as I had just quit the gym. For the first few days I really enjoyed using it and was excited to beat my target everyday. However I found the food recording not easy to use as it didn't have half the food I ate. Then I got annoyed with having to wear the pedometer everyday as it is a little bulky. I've since started cycling to work so I don't do much walking at all so it has no real use for me anymore. Saying all that I did really enjoy using it and if I had more staying power (and wasn't cycling now) I would still be using it. I would recommend it if you are a dedicated person,

3.10.2009

The step counter on this product is great! it really works. I found it very easy to use and set up the product. It offers lots of encouragement for someone trying to live a healthier life-style. It wont let you pick exact foods e.g soft brown roll, for that you need to join the weight-watchers internet site, but it will help you maintain a healthy diet, if you are really determined to do it. Lots of quizzes, which get abit boring after the first few goes....but lots of advice. If you are into gadgets (as I am) you will love this at first, but dont know how long you will stick to using it! Once youve reached your target steps, it does not recognise further steps, and reward you for them!

30.5.2010

upside: Was a bit sceptical about this at first but thought I would give it a try, bought in January '10 and have lost a stone in weight since using the programme. It would have cost me a fortune for 6 months at a slimming club, and probably wouldn't have lost as much weight. I did stick to the programme and didn't cheat (easily done).downside : The pedometer clip broke after 6 weeks but still works but haven't been able to find a replacement clip, although steps can still be entered manually into the programme to the nearest 100, so you can keep track. The pedometer is a little bit bulky, but well worth the money I paid.

My Health Coach: Manage Your Weight (DS) - Reviews

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